Athletic glove or mitt construction



Sept. 25, 1934.

K. K. KIRKHAM ATHLETIC GLOVE OR MITT CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 51. 1952 Patented Sept. 25, 1934 Qumran STATE-S rev-gels Mama-Fm s'rnm'rlc Grove on Miter oonsmoorron Kenzie K. Kirkham, Ames, Iowa Application October 31,

' Claims.

its movement toward the bottom of the pocket.

It is 1 also my purpose to provide a variety of details ofconstruction, which may be advangloves'bonformingto the general purpose.

tion having the pocket as mentioned and having an afac'e arranged without peripheral indentations,

le'tic glove or mitt construction, whereby the objects contemplated-"areattained, as hereinafter more fullyset fOrthL'pointed out in my claims;

and illustrated the aceornpanyingdrawing, in

.which.

acatchersinitt embodyingmy invention.

Figure2 isa similar view of a first basemans mitt. i Figure 3 isa "similar view of a fielders glove. Figure 4 is a detaiL-sectional view taken on the line 4'-"-4 ofFigure1; illustrating one form or construction." I i Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 are sectional views talen on thesame section line illustrating difierentfin-ms oimyinvention; and

*Figures 12 and-l3 are diagrammaticviews il lustratingthe manner in which the pocketstrum V I i i points 24 to function as cushioning means. In the forrn of device shown in Figure '7, an opening turefwork's in certain'ca'ses. i

. In t e accompanying drawingJ h veusea the reference numerals 10, 1 l and 12 to indicate gen--- erally and respectively a catchers mitt, a first mammals-1a; and a fielders glove construction. Iii-each ort'hese' there may be provided a ball 56 receiving poc et. The construction of this ball packing indicated by the refe'rence numeral 13,

. glove indicated at 15, which may be of tageous in making different forms of mitts and wherebythe cost of construction may be substan- Figure 1 isairbnt elevation of amitt, such as receivingf p ocket-may be variedin many respects and these various constructions may eappnea to each of the kinds ofg mitts orgloves ,hereln 193mm No. 640,408 2-119.)

and the reariabric cover, sometimes e'alleda" lining 141131111 fi e rontcover for the face of the" leather or any suitablematerial. Y t g.

In the face of the mittor glove isprovided a cupshaped pocket or recess for receiving the ball. I preferablypre-form this p'ocket, and it may be provided with'cushioningmeans. For instance inthe Iorm shown in Figure 4, the pocket is formed by means of the cushioning members 16, 5

which may be of ordinary rubber with the slightly out tur'ned flange 16aat the upper edge. The front cover 15, of course, fits down into the pocket formed by the member 16.

Inthe roi'mshown in Figure 4, the pocket mem- A I ber 16 has an air hole 17 at the bottom. Another purpose-is to provide such a construc- Figure sis a slightly difierent Iormof pocket. A rubber'cup-like': member 18 is provided, which is substantially similar to the pocket member 16 with the omission bf thehole' 17, except that the pocket member 18 has near its upper inner part an in turned flexible resilient flange 18a. As shown inFigure 5, the front cover 15, the pocket member 18 and the lining or rear cover 14 are sewedtogether at thebottornof the pocket by stitches 19? Y H Figure 6 is still another form of my device, 3 having the pocket member 20, which may still be of rubber or'jmay be of felt or oi any material suitable for the purpose. 1 "I preferably put around the member 20, near its upper part and on the outside thereof 'a tubular, resilient, preferably continuous annular member 21. I have also shown inIFigure 6 an annular resilient band or a the like-122 resting on the bottom ofthe pocket memberjust under the covering 15. The form of device shownin Figure '6 may be madewith 5 both the annular member 21 and the cushioning ring 22 or with either of them.

Figure 'llllustrates still anotherform in which the pocket 23,, of suitable'material, for instance mbbef plurality f inwardlyprojecting round leatherdisc' or the like 28-over .thestitches of my invention. In this case, there is providedapocket formed in the face of the glove-by cutting away the packing and fitting the appropriate portion of the cover 15 into the pocket and around the side wall of the pocket is placed a rubber or other flexible and resilient band 32, which is as though the bottom of the pocket"16- for instance had been cut away. It will be noted that I have shown the ocket in Figure 10 as provided witha wall, the upper part of which is of slightly less diameter than the diameter of the ball 33 intended to be used in in it. The idea is that the ball'will then spreadthe wall of the pocket under' all-circumstances and that the wall will be certain to have its cushioning eifect. v

In Figure 11, I have shown a very simple form of my structure intended for use in more inexpensive mitts and gloves. The pocketis formed by simply removing a part of the packing of the glove andfitting the cover member 15 into the cup-like recess thus formed.

A structure of the kind herein contemplated has a number of advantages. The cup shape contributes to the certainty of receiving and holding the ball 33. The impact of the ballas it travels .into the cup is cushioned by the nature .of the cup material and also bythe factthat a cup of air in the bottom of the cupmust be displaced.

In Figure 4, I have shown the air hole 17 in the bottom of the cup, and thismaybe used, if

:..necessary, but I prefer to eliminate it asin the I forms shown in the other figures. Even the form of cup shown in Figure 4 may be used 'without' this hole. When whole is used, and especially when the diameter of the wall of the cup is slight- 1y less than that of the ball, it is obvious that as the ball travels toward the bottom of the cup, it tends to compress the :air in the cup, so that that air serves as a cushion to the final entry of the ball. In practically all instances, the impact of the ball is not directly against the bottom of the cup, but against the side wall. of, the cup,-so that it is received by the cup-member and alsoby the packing. f

- n this account,-there are some advantages in the forms of cup structures shown inFigures 5 and 6, which provide special cushioning means for the side wall of the cup. I v;

In the structure shown in Figure 'l', the mem-. bers 24 serve as cushioning means.- Soflikewise in the form shown in Figure 6, the ,rnember 22 furnishes additional cushioning means, and in the form illustrated inFigure 9,v the nangeer provides additional cushioning or shock absorb means. T .i 'A glove of this. kind not only serves to satis factorily cushion the impact of the ball when it is caught, but in most of thefor ms here shown serves to hold the ball for an instant afterit reaches the bottom of the pocket. h

Insome cases, the-wall ofthe pocket .may be of less diameter than theball muse, I-n such.v casesit'is obvious that when; the ball-is once driven to the bottom of thepocket, there-willbe air pressure from the outside on it, lfwhich will for the instant help to hold it a a nst accidentally Figures 1 p and 2.

being dropped. Any movement out of the pocket will tend to create a vacuum in the bottom of the pocket. This is also true wherever the diameter of the wall of the pocket and the resilience of the pocket are such that when the ball reaches the bottom of the pocket and pushes the bottom of the pocket, there is a tendency of contract the side of the pocket. I have endeavored to illustrate this in Figures 12 and 13. In Figure 12, the. ball is entering the pocket, and the pocket Wall is of greater diameter than the ball. Howeve'nwh'en the ball reaches the bottom of the pocket and pushes the bottom out of its normal position, there is a tendency to contract the sides of the pocket until they grip the ball, so that they omit the indentation by which the thumb portion is ordinarily formed and tocut the face covering of the glove without indentations in its periphery. Such structures are illustrated in r This substantially reduces the cost in cutting and sewing of the mitts.

In Figure-3, I have indicated a slightly differ:

pocket construction in mitts, It is possible to 1 ent form from those already mentioned. I have,

shown acup member like themember .16- for instance in dotted lines with finger-like extensions indicated at 34 extending in various directions from the rim of the cup. These may extend in such directionas to protect the wrist and alsoto protectthe fingers of the player.

It should perhaps be mentioned in this connection. that while I have not attempted to show the finger stalls and the hand covering .at the back of the glove or mitt, they are expected to be used in the ordinary way. I have shown them in dotted lines at 35 and 36 in Figures 1 and 2.

.It will be seen from the foregoing that the pocket, which may be indicatedgenerally by the reference character A, maybe formed in a great variety of ways without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims any of these structures which may be included within the spirit ands-l1 or formed with an opening as in Figure 7, or the preformed pocket member might be Itis noted that with the structure here sug- Y simply set into a pocket in the face of the glove or mitt.

gested, the manufacturer may take advantage of theresistance of the wall of the pocket to'the entrance of theball, the forced spreading of the pocket, the air cushion resisting the ball, the contraction of the wall after the ball is in the pocket, and the vacuum for holding the ball.

I claim as my invention:

1.;In a glove or mitt construction, a face with afiexible pocket having a bottomshaped like a portion of the surface of a sphere having a resilientlannular, portion spaced from its bottom of less diameter than that of such a sphere. to engage an entering ball, and cushion its movement toward the bottom of the pocket.

2. In a glove or mitt construction, a face with a flexible cup-shaped pocket and a resilientannular element surrounding the pocket spaced from the bottom thereof. 7

3. In a glove or mitt construction, a face having a pre-formed flexible cup-shaped pocket for receiving a ball, the wall of the pocketbeing constricted near its opening to engage the ball to cushion its movement toward the bottom of the pocket, said pocket having near its bottom an annular inwardly projecting resilient flange.

4. In a glove or mitt construction, a face having a pre-formcd flexible cup-shaped pocket for re-v ceiving a ball, the Wall of the pocket being adapt- 

